Mohammed Imran Ali Akhtar

Mohammed Imran Ali Akhtar, aged 37 from Godstone Road in Rotherham, was sentenced to 23 years in prison at Sheffield Crown Court for his role in the sexual exploitation of vulnerable young girls between 1998 and 2005. As part of a group of men who targeted girls aged 13 to 16, Akhtar was found guilty of one count of rape, one count of aiding and abetting rape, three counts of indecent assault, one count of procuring a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse with another, and one count of sexual assault.

The offences occurred as part of the broader Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal, investigated under Operation Stovewood by the National Crime Agency (NCA), which began in 2014 following a report that identified at least 1,400 children as victims of abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. Akhtar and his co-offenders used drink, drugs, and the pretence of friendship to groom and coerce the girls into degrading and violent sexual acts, including gang rapes. One victim reported being sexually abused by at least 100 Asian men by the age of 16, highlighting the scale of the exploitation.

In a specific incident, Akhtar regularly threatened to abandon a 14-year-old girl in remote locations if she refused to have sex with him and his friends. On one occasion, he left her by the side of a motorway. He also took her to meet older Asian taxi drivers who then abused her. The victims were assaulted in various locations across Rotherham, such as Clifton Park, Ulley Country Park, a supermarket car park, and a tip in Rawmarsh.

Judge Sarah Wright, during sentencing, addressed the offenders, stating: 'Each in your own way perpetrated, facilitated or encouraged the sexual abuse of these young girls. Each of the complainants in this case were groomed, coerced and intimidated. Each of them was groomed. Each of you, groomed. You can have been in no doubt that the complainants were vulnerable in the extreme.' A victim impact statement from one girl read: 'I feel like I'm constantly fighting to get justice for what they did to me. I hope the court realises these men have destroyed me. Some parts of me can never be fixed.' Paul Williamson from the NCA commented: 'The men who have been sentenced today preyed on vulnerable young girls for their own satisfaction. They used violence and intimidation and believed they were untouchable by law enforcement.'

The case underscores the long-term trauma inflicted on the victims, who continue to suffer considerable effects from the cynical manipulation and exploitation. All convicted men were of British Pakistani heritage and demonstrated a maturity in their predatory behaviour beyond their years.